ccgb #100

ccgb #99

ccgb #98

CCGB #97

This is a re-worked version of my entry for this weeks cartoon, as I didn't like my original colouring. This is done with Promarkers...

CCGB #96

CCGB #95 - "FLIGHT"

A hard theme to do this week, but I'm happy with the result, as it raised a few chuckles. This is also the first real piece where I used my latest purchase - McNiven & Cameron Waverly nibs. These are vintage nibs with a lovely upturned nib, making them very smooth to draw with. anyway they can't be that bad - Quentin Blake uses them!

CCGB #94

ccgb #93

Dip Pens...

It's funny how things change. When I first started this blog over 3 years ago, I was cartooning with a dip pen - to be precise, a leonardt dp250 nib in a Manuscript holder. I loved the lines I got, but hated the mess, and the inconvenience. Since then, I've tried technical pens, fine liners, brush markers - you name it, I've probably tried it, and during that time, I've never been really happy with my work.


Recently, I've been using Letraset Promarkers for some of my colouring, and they can be fussy about what inks can be used with them. As an experiment, I tried japanese sumi-e ink and my dip pen... and I was astounded at the result! Since then, I've been using dip pens more and more in my work, to the point where I've started to order new equipment. My favourite combination at present is a Leonardt DPGEN nib (sort of like a Deleter Manga "G" nib), speedball holder and tesco premium printer paper (it's very smooth), with FW acrylic or Sumi-e ink.

The MOST frustrating thing...

I cannot draw on a computer.

I've tried using wacom tablets, tablet PCs, IPads....

It's so frustrating. This week I bought some extra memory for my HP Tablet PC, hoping that I could use it to create a good cartoon - I gave up after 3 failed attempts, because I couldn't get it. It didn't feel right, and I couldn't get my co-ordination. Not sure if it's the computer failing to keep up, or just me.

What's even more annoying is that it doesn't mean I can't create art using my computer - I can. I can take a cartoon I've created, scan it, convert it to vector if required and color it. A lot of the cartoons on this blog have been created the same way. I just can't draw - it feels wrong.

If I get the chance, I'm going to try and create the cartoon the old fashioned way tonight, and see if I feel better...

ccgb #91

ccgb #90

CCGB #87

For parents everywhere...

See - it happens to the best of us!

CCGB #85

I've been doing this for nearly three years now...

The title of his entry really says it all - I've been actively cartooning for nearly three years. Looking back through this blog has been an interesting experience. I've recently had a lot of self belief problems regarding my cartooning (you know the sort of thing - am I getting any better, any funnier...) to the point where I almost gave up, but looking through my own little archive here, just proves to me how much I have progressed. Next week, I'm starting a proper cartooning course, to help me with the problems I think my work is showing, but at least now, I know I'm not wasting my time.

CCGB #84

CCGB Caricature - Amy Winehouse

ccgb #83

A couple of quick cartoon tests using a new pen - Edding 3.5 Calligraphy Pen (as used by Peter Crocker - webcartoonist on youtube). Interesting, because it's a hard squared-off felt tip, you can get thick and thin lines by varying the angle of the pen whilst drawing. Not only that, but the ink isn't bad either (semi waterproof / quick drying), and the pen is quite cheap...

All in all, not bad - I think I'll use it to do this week's CCGB compo...

ccgb #82

Animation Project

Something I've been thinking about for a long time is an animation project. Well, it's took me a while, but I've started work on it today. The pipeline (I've decided) will be Inkscape Artwork -> Synfig animation -> Blender video compositing, with music by Orion Pro / Experimental Scene pro Audio (if I want to stay completely open source). The first thing is to get my characters right - I have three main characters in "Duke Lukem" - Luke (a small boy), Cat (a cat - funny that...) and Mum (or "Mom" if you're from the colonies). This is going to be a Duke Nukem spoof - could be interesting...

ccgb #81

CCGB #80

The latest entry...

Caricature - Pete Postlethwaite

CCGB #79

Here's my entry for CCGB #79. It's a quick entry, because my first one I wasn't sure about. The theme as VENTRILOQUISTS, and once I'd completed my original entry, I wasn;t sure it really fitted. here is my original for posterity...


Which one do you prefer?

Come GET some! The Duke is BACK!

Yup- the event that long time Duke Nukem fan have been waiting for is nearly here. On May 6th, 2011, Duke Nukem Forever is finally due for release...

http://www.dukenukem.com/#?trailer

The only reason for me to upgrade my desktop has finally arrived :)

ccgb #78

Hypervox Redesign...

Just managed to finish my holding page for Hypervox (my old home page). I'm using this site as the jumping off point for all my projects - if you want to see what I'm doing, have a peek...

CCGB #77

Computers for the Over 40's

Just created a new blog for those of us who are in the prime of life, and know the joys(sic) of owning a computer - have a look at http://computersfortheover40s.blogspot.com/, and let me know if you like it...

CCGB #76

Ground control to Major Tom....

Quick cartoon I did over the Christmas period, and yes, I WAS listening to Bowie at the time...

Happy New Year!

Annual Chores #1...

Cleaning my tea cup at work - 5 minutes of scrubbing, scraping and general mayhem, and my Muppets mug is ready for the new year...!

Xmas Card 2010

Merry Christmas everyone!

CCGB #73

This scored 10 points! Thanks all. Interesting bit of disection from Noel Ford...

"Believe it or not, yours was the first idea that came to me but I rejected it on these grounds: (...) I realised that, for the gag to work properly, there would have to be come logical reason for the inappropriate logo to have been used in the first place. Bren's cheese wedges making up the radiation symbol and my use of the initials, CC, for instance. The idea of the Nazis having a Mickey Mouse logo is funny but illogical since there is no obvious reason why that symbol relates to the Nazis."

Something to remember methinks...

CCGB #72

CCGB #71

A good cartoon, but not good enough to score any points this week! Actually, the competition was so fierce this week, not one bad gag in the lot. It was an honor to lose to Rich Skipworth's suprememe effort "Snowman". If you want to find out more, pop over to the CCGB competition #71 and take a look...

CCGB #70 - WOO-HOO!

Would you believe it - this cartoon managed a massive 25 points in the CCGB Caption competition #70 "Now THAT's just showing off", and a 3rd place spot on the podium! It's my highest scoring cartoon to date, and just goes to show that all my hard work has payed off. My thanks to all those who voted - now it's on to the next one!

Please place your husband in the Nagging Area!

Interesting story behind this one. Every week, the winner of the CCGB Competition gives a new caption for the next competition, and on week 67, the veritable Dave C (dc1) won. After talking to him afterwards, he said that one of the captions he had thought of and dismissed was "please remove the item from the bagging area", a phrase which, if you use the UKs favourite supermarket's self service checkout, you'll know all too well. Dave dismissed the caption, as he thought it was too difficult - I agreed, but in the back of my mind, I wondered if you could do something similar - thsi is the result. Cheers Dave!

CCGB #69

Here is my entry for CCGB #69

Quick cartoon, drawn using a Kuretake Twin Graphic, and coloured in OpenCanvas.

CCGB #68

Latest entry for CCGB Compo #68 - "That's not mine." Drawn with the failthful Flair before being GIMPed and ArtRaged.
This scored 3 points - on to the next one!

Guy Fawkes - Mission Impossible...

I just love this one. Coloured version will come later on - oh yeeaahhh...

CCGB #67 - Dalek

My latest entry for CCGB Compo #67 - (Un)intelligent Design. This was done using my new favourite pen, the Papermate Flair. I don't care that it's not waterproof, I don't care that the ink is non-archival and will fade - I just love drawing with it. It's such an instinctive pen, and if Randy Glasbergen can use one, then so can I...

This received 6 points - my highest score yet!

Guess who's running the CCGB competitions?

Yup, it's me. After a wonderful run by Steve Bright (Brighty) and Helen King (Scotty), yours truly will be taking over the running of the Cartoonists Club Of Great Britain weekly/monthly competitions. I've mentioned these competitions before in these hallowed pages, but just as a reminder, the CCGB runs two competitions where cartoonists and caricaturists compete to be the best - the prize is... the adoration of your fellow artists - nothing more, and nothing less. It's all just a bit of harmless fun, that frequently produces some great gags, brilliant artwork, and some very heated debates! If you're interested pop over to the CCGB and have a look...

Come get some... Klingon!

Just a quickie today...

CCGB #64

Sorry about the lack of posts...

Sorry everyone - been dealing with a family berievement, so not many posts this week. Hopefully some more updates will come later, thanks for your patience..l

Hey, I made it!

Yup - my cartoon made the xaraxone cartoon gallery! Please take the time to look at the fab cartoons posted by some very talented cartoonists at the XaraXone Cartoon Show 2010!

Interesting fact - Star Wars

Number of times I have seen the movies...

Star Wars - too many to count!
Empire Strikes Back - Oodles
Return of the Jedi - Oodles

Phantom Menace - 1
Attack of the Clones - 1
Revenge of the Sith - 1

Draw your own conclusions... :)

Xara Xone submission

Just submitted "Keys to my heart" to the Xara Xone Cartoon Show - I wonder if they'll take it?

How times change...

Something that troubles me, is how times have changed computing-wise. The computer and I first met at school, when I tried to master that wonderful little beast, the BBC Micro. Oh, how I struggled with it, loading programs via tape, playing games that cost a small fortune, and realising that I'd never be able to afford one (£400 back in the early eighties...)


Fast forward 3 years to my first job... as a Computer Operator. I used to work on an ICL Mainframe called an ME29, the first machine I used that had 256k of memory (2 years later, my Amstrad PCW 256 surpased that). That wonderful mainframe started by turning a key...


Fast forward to 1986 - my first exposure to PCs - the Amstrad PC 8086 - I remember thinking that these were out of my price range, but loved the idea of a hard disk. In 1989, portable computing arrived with my Cambridge zx81, a lovely little laptop word processor with a rubber keyboard (Amstrad eventually took them over and released the machine under another name), but the real highlight was seeing IBM PS/2 PCs - I drooled over their lovely looks, and fantastic power (at the time) - it wasn't going to be long before PCs would rule my life.


Not soon after, I was introduced to the Atari ST520FM - and my love of computers for home use was secure. I played hundreds of hours of games, produced fanzines, programmed, trawled BBSs - in fact, I did everything I do today, on a machine that had 1MB of memory, and a floppy drive - I loved it! I upgraded it, cherished it, bought it presents - my wife said I spent more time with the Atari than I did with her (she was jealous I tell you)!

In 1994, I was given the chance to move to IT/PC Support, and I jumped at the chance. From that point on, I was a PC man. I always built my own to my own spec (a trend I only recently distanced myself from), and I learned the very deepest darkest secrets of their psyche. Not only DOS, but Windows fell before me, in all it's worst incarnations.

Today, I use a 3GHz PC PC at work, a Samsung net book for general surfing at home, and a HP TC1100 Tablet PC for my artwork, and I recently contemplated purchasing a one terabyte hard drive because they were so cheap - things have certainly changed in the last 30 years!

New Music...

I'll admit it - I'm stuck in the Seventies & Eighties. My main musical influences all stem from around that era, and I've found little since then, to contradict my opinion that modern music is awful. I hold the opinion that music has stagnated since the end of the Eighties, and is now a homoginized product of the music companies who are looking at the "next big thing" to replace "the last big thing" - a never ending stream of the same old acts, that look alike, and sound alike - and that "alike" has not changed for the last decade. Look at any music channel - it's not about new music any more, it's about money and fleeting fame. Just look at X-Factor or the Disney Channel... (shudder)

I was having a conversation with my sons about this on Sunday. My youngest son is a fabulous rock guitarist, and he was trying to find something to listen to on the sky music channels.

"This is ridiculous!" he cried. I asked him what the problem was.

"The channels - they're all the same! The music is all the same!"

My oldest son (a bassist) agreed, which lead a long discussion, and some amazing revelations. Apart from one or two modern groups, they've started listening to, and appreciating, music from the Seventies and Eighties. I was gobsmacked!

"Why?" I said.

"Because none of the bands sound the same - it's all new and fresh!" So saying, they sat and watched a Thin Lizzy concert, and whilst they laughed at the clothes and poor video quality, one thing was agreed on.

Thin Lizzy rocked,

I kid you not. This actually happened. Now to get them hooked on Ultravox.. :)

The Unoffical Guide To Enjoying Your Works Bar-B-Que

For those who know me, you'll know that all this actually happens! It's worse than blood sports at times... however, we wouldn't swap them for anything. Colour version coming later on tonight.